Wall furniture mounting rail

ABSTRACT

A wall furniture mounting device includes an elongated mounting rail having a wall anchor plate, with a plurality of apertures, a hook section, and a support section. The plurality of apertures is configured into a pattern so that each aperture is uniquely identifiable quickly via visual inspection. The pattern repeats along the mounting rail at an interval equal to the distance between wall studs.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention includes a mounting rail and corresponding method forinstalling and leveling wall furniture (e.g., shelving, cabinetry,closet organizers, and the like) quickly. The invention greatlysimplifies ensuring that shelves, cabinets, modular units, and otherwall furniture is both level and securely fixed to the wall studs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Wall-mounted furniture, such as cabinets, shelves, modular closetorganizers, and the like, are common solutions for creating additionalstorage space in most construction projects. In addition to itsfunctionality, wall furniture also adds beauty to kitchens, bathrooms,closets, and the like. As noted in U.S. Pat. No. 2,521,134, it isabsolutely critical that the wall furniture be arranged in rows that arein strict horizontal alignment. Misalignment is immediately perceptibleand very unsightly. Likewise, it is also critical that wall furniture besecurely mounted to the wall via the wall studs. For example, kitchencabinets tend to be loaded to their full capacity with very heavy, veryexpensive, and fragile items such as china, glassware, and the like. Thecabinets themselves can also be quite expensive, so it's important thatthey be attached to the wall securely. In light of these requirements(as well as the permanent nature of most wall furniture installations),a great deal of time, care, and effort is expended by installers toensure that the furniture is both level and securely fixed to the wallstuds. However, as in most fields, time is money in the constructiontrades. Thus, a device that enables installers to mount and level wallfurniture faster would meet a long-felt and unmet need.

Both residential and commercial buildings put heavy stress on shelving,cabinetry, and the like. Kitchens typically have a sets of overheadcabinets mounted on the walls. The kitchen cabinets are used for storageof heavy items such as dishes and canned food. Thus, the cabinets mustbe securely fastened to the wall. In residential kitchens, the aestheticappearance is just as important as the structural strength. Evencabinets constructed with quality materials lose their appeal if theyare mounted poorly on the wall. Cabinets that are not mounted level andflush detract immensely from the overall appearance of the kitchen orother room. The same is true of commercial space, such as a laboratory.In this environment, there are added risks not encountered in aresidential kitchen. In a lab, the wall-mounted cabinets are used tostore, among other things, liquid and solid chemicals, equipment, highlyspecialized glassware, etc. Thus, to ensure the safety of those usingthe lab, the cabinets must be level and securely mounted to the wall.

Similarly, modern construction also makes wide use of wall-mountedorganizing furniture, such as closet and garage organizers. Thesemodular units typically include shelving, rods for hanging clothes,open-front and closed-front cabinets, etc. Again, for a modularorganizing system to look and to function well, each unit of the systemmust be installed securely and on the level.

Installation problems are due to the furniture itself (e.g., a large,fully-assembled wooden cabinet, with a door having glass inserts, isvery heavy, cumbersome, and easily breakable). Some installationproblems are due to widely standardized (and usually legally-mandated)construction practices. For example, throughout the United States andCanada, interior walls are constructed by installing the supportingstuds at regularly spaced intervals, most often sixteen (16) inches oncenter. The studs are then covered with dry wall, sheet rock, or othertypes of wall board, paneling, or other similar materials to completethe wall. In contrast, cabinets, modular units, and other wall furnitureare often made in custom widths. Typically, a combination of shelving,cabinets, and other wall furniture of different widths is used in asingle installation. As a result, there is usually only limitedalignment (width-wise) of the wall furniture with the underlying studsin the wall. As a result, it is difficult (and sometimes impossible), tosecure an individual unit of wall furniture directly to a stud to obtainthe required secure mounting. In those instances, the wall furniture issecured to surrounding wall furniture and/or to the relatively weak wallcovering between the studs. This creates a potentially dangeroussituation when the installed furniture is loaded to capacity with heavyitems.

As noted earlier, installing and leveling wall furniture (especiallylarger cabinets and long shelving units) is difficult due to the sheersize and weight of the individual furniture units. Often times, severalpeople are required to lift and hold the wall furniture in place, whilea third installer attaches the unit to the wall. A fourth installer isoften required to ensure that the entire line of units is level andflush against the wall prior to the installation being finalized.

There are described in the patent literature a number of bracket typesdesigned to speed the process of installing and/or levelingwell-mounting cabinetry. Most of these devices take the form of anelongated mounting rail that is first attached to the wall and leveled.The cabinets are then hung on the mounting rail. The mounting rail istypically a continuous extrusion or stamping having a cross-sectionalshape which includes a planar back portion and an upwardly turned hookportion, lip, or flange on which the cabinets are suspended via a matingrail or hook on the back of each cabinet. The mounting rail generallyincludes a plurality of fastener openings which are uniformly spacedapart along the length of the rail to facilitate attaching the mountingrail to a wall. The cabinets to be hung have attached to them a mountingrail that opposingly corresponds to the mounting rail attached to thewall. For examples, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,733,887; 3,025,122; 3,791,709;3,854,656; 3,050,049; 4,149,692; and 4,342,439.

A typical cabinet mounting rail of this type is also described inLicciardello, U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,168. This patent describes a mountingrail with a J-shaped hook that is mounted on a wall and a correspondingupside down J-shaped extension that is mounted on the back of thecabinets. The J-shaped extension on the back of the cabinet engages theJ-shaped hook on the wall. Similarly, Bauer, U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,201,describes an elongated rail attached to a wall, as well as a railattached to the back of a cabinet. The edges of the wall rail and thecabinet rail are smooth and rounded. This design allows the cabinet railto connect with the corresponding channel in the wall rail.

While there have been improvements in the design and functionality ofcabinet rails, those improvements have been limited to the interactionbetween the rail that is attached to the wall and the mating rail thatis attached to the back of the cabinets. The prior art mounting rails donot provide a mechanism that allows the cabinets to be installed in alevel fashion quickly and with only one person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a mounting rail used in hanging wall furniture.The present invention improves the ease of installation of the mountingrail by eliminating the redundant steps of finding wall-studs. Thepresent invention is secured to a wall so that a complementary rail on apiece of furniture to be hung can engage with it. The rail on thefurniture engages with the mounting rail of the present invention andsecurely holds the wall furniture in place.

The present invention is an improvement over the prior art in the waythe mounting rail attaches to the wall. The mounting rail has a seriesof holes or apertures, which allow the installer to locate framing studsbehind the wall easily and without using a measuring tape or othermeasuring tool. In the preferred version of the invention, the series ofapertures are arranged in a visually perceivable pattern spaced at16-inch intervals to match the standard of 16-inch on-center spacing ofwall studs that is commonly used in North America.

When first hanging the mounting rail, the installer must find a firststud in the wall. With the mounting rail held flush against the wall,the installer then secures the rail to the stud through a firstaperture. Once the mounting rail is secured at one end, the installeradjusts the rail to be horizontally level. When the rail is in thecorrect position, the installer need not directly measure 16 inches fromthe first stud. Instead, the present invention allows the installer tosimply look for the aperture that matches the pattern around the firstattachment aperture. The preferred version of the present invention isdesigned so that the unique pattern of apertures repeats every 16inches, in accordance with the 16-inch standard commonly used in theUnited States. The spacing of the apertures may be altered for othergeographic locations where different standards are mandated.

The present invention makes it easier and faster to install wallfurniture by reducing the need to measure 16 inches (or some multiple of16 inches) from the first found stud to a subsequent stud in order tolevel the mounting rail. In one embodiment, each unique pattern includes16 individually distinguishable apertures. Along a single section ofrail, the pattern may repeat several times. Once a first aperture ischosen, the second iteration of that aperture will occur 16 inches ineither direction from the first aperture. The third iteration will occuranother 16 inches away from the second aperture and 32 inches from thefirst aperture. In another embodiment, the unique pattern of 16apertures may be comprised of a subset of patterned apertures. Forexample, a single 16-aperture section may be comprised of four sets offour uniquely identifiable apertures.

The objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully fromthe following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of theinvention made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the present invention asit would be mounted to a wall.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the present invention showing asingle iteration of a unique pattern of apertures.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the present invention showing asecond iteration of the unique pattern of apertures.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of analternative version of the invention in which the apertures are allcircular in cross-section, and are otherwise color-coded

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, and first to FIG. 1, a transversecross-section of the present invention is shown. A mounting rail 10, inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, is constructedof a durable material. The material may include a light weight metal,such as aluminum, or a more robust metal like steel or iron. Thematerial may also be made of a metallic alloy, plastic, wood, or anyother suitably stiff material.

The mounting rail 10 is secured to a wall with fasteners through aplurality of apertures 34, which run through the wall anchor plate 14.Preferred fasteners include screws, nails, and rivets (not shown in thefigures). A combination of adhesives and fasteners, such as screws andnails, may also be used for securing the mounting rail 10 to a wall. Themounting rail 10 is comprised of a wall anchor plate 14 disposed betweenand integral with a hook section 16 and a support section 18. The wallanchor plate 14 is planar and rests flush against the wall 90. The front38 of the mounting rail is opposite the wall 90.

The wall anchor plate 14 has an upper section 20 leading into the hooksection 16. The wall anchor plate 14 also has a lower section 22 leadinginto the support section 18. The hook section 16 bends outwardlyrelative to the wall 90. The outward bend at the lower hook section 26as shown in FIG. 1 is approximately 64.35° relative to the wall 90. Thisis for illustration purposes only. Any suitable angle that yields a hooksection dimensioned and configured for hanging wall furniture may beused. In a preferred version of the invention, the angles in the lowerhook section 26 are mirror images so that the hook section 16 isparallel to the wall anchor plate 14 (as shown in FIG. 1). Again, thisis the preferred configuration, but is not required. A channel 28 isthus defined between the wall 90 and the hook section 16.

The lower section 22 of the wall anchor plate 14 leads to the supportsection 18. The lower section 22 bends outwardly, relative to the wall90, at the junction of the lower section 22 and the support section 18.In a preferred embodiment, the angle of the outward bend is 90° relativeto the wall 90. In another embodiment, the outward bend falls within therange of 30° to 150° relative to the wall 90. In the most preferredembodiment, the front surface 41 of the hook section 16 and the frontsurface 43 of the support section 18 both come into flush contact withthe back of a cabinet. This configuration provides the most support forthe attached cabinet. (Note that it is not required the front surface 43contact the wall furniture; many types of wall furniture includesuitable spacers that make contact directly with the underlying wall toensure proper spacing of the furniture from the wall.)

Now referring to FIG. 2, the front 38 of the mounting rail 10 isvisible. FIG. 2 shows the left edge 44 as well as the continuing edge 46of the mounting rail 10. FIG. 2 most importantly shows a plurality ofwall anchor apertures 34 through the wall anchor plate 14. FIG. 2 showsone embodiment of the mounting rail 10 in which the plurality of wallanchor apertures 34 is divided into four sets 48, 50, 52, 54 of fourwall anchor apertures 34 each. In this preferred embodiment, there is afirst iteration 48 of a pattern A, a first iteration 50 of pattern B, afirst iteration 52 of pattern C, and a first iteration 54 of pattern D.The patterns are arbitrary and visually distinct from one another. Asshown in FIG. 2, the apertures are configured with differentcross-sectional shapes (i.e., square, circle, diamond, etc.) to renderthem visually distinct from one another. The first iteration 48 ofpattern A includes four wall anchor apertures 34 each occupying adistinct location within pattern A. For example, 48 a occupies the firstposition in pattern A, 48 b occupies the second location, 48 c occupiesthe third location, and 48 d occupies the fourth location. Eachsubsequent iteration 50, 52, 54 also contains four wall anchor apertures34 uniquely positioned in the same fashion as the first pattern: 50 a,50 b, 50 c, 50 d, . . . 54 a, 54 b, 54 c, 54 d, etc. In the preferredversion, there is a one inch space 58 between the centers of each wallanchor aperture 34. In this fashion, each wall anchor aperture 34occupies a distinct and identifiable position relative to all other wallanchor apertures 34 in the rail 10.

In the preferred version of the invention, the mounting rail 10 is of asufficient length to contain several iterations of each of thefour-aperture patterns of wall anchor apertures 34. Any number ofpatterns, without limitation, may be incorporated into the mountingrail, but it is preferred that fours sets of patterns be used, and thateach set of four patterns repeats periodically along the length of therail. (That is, the rail bears an overall repeating pattern of 16apertures, sub-divided into distinct, four-aperture patterns 48, 50, 52,and 54, as shown in FIG. 2).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a subsequent iteration of the patternsof wall anchor apertures 34. The mounting rail 100 of FIG. 3 is acontinuation of the mounting rail 10 of FIG. 2 from the continuing edge46. The second iteration 148 of pattern A is identical to the firstiteration 48 of pattern A. In the preferred version, the first wallanchor aperture 148 a of the second iteration 148 of pattern A, is 16inches away from the first aperture 48 a of the first iteration 48 ofpattern A. This redundancy continues along the mounting rail 100 so thatthe third aperture 152 c of the second iteration 152 of pattern C is 16inches away from the third aperture 52 c of the first iteration 52 ofpattern C, and so forth.

The method for installing the mounting rail 10 comprises a series ofsimple steps that can be readily performed by an individual installer.The first step is to locate a first wall stud at the furthest left-handend or right-hand end on the wall where the cabinets are go be hung. Thesecond step is to position the mounting rail 10 at a desired height fromthe floor or ceiling. A fastener (nail, screw, etc.) is secured througha wall anchor aperture 34 and into the first wall stud. (This first wallstud is located by conventional means, e.g., by trial and error [notpreferred, but often used], or by using a conventional magnetic studfinder tool.) The mounting rail 10 is then leveled (using a torpedolevel, laser level, or any suitable leveling tool) and the installerlocates the final iteration of the first wall anchor aperture 34 at theopposite end of the rail. Because the patterns are evenly spaced andvisually identifiable, no measuring is needed to locate the wall stud atthe far end of the mounting rail. The installer simply looks at thepattern where the first end is affixed, locates the matching pattern atthe far end of the rail, and affixes the rail at the far end by passinga fastener through the matching aperture. Because the repetitivepatterns 48, 50, 52, 54, . . . 148, 150, 152, and 154 are spaced 16inches on-center, which is the same spacing conventionally used for wallstuds, the fastener at the far end of the mounting rail is guaranteed tohit a wall stud. Thus, with only having to find a single stud, aninstaller can then level the mounting rail, and affix the far end toanother wall stud without having to take any measurement from the firststud, and without having to use a stud finder to locate the wall stud atthe far end of the mounting rail.

At this point, the mounting rail is fixed to the wall at each end and islevel. The process described above is then repeated for each recurringpattern of apertures between the two now-fixed ends of the mountingrail. A fastener is inserted through each pattern that matches thepattern at the two now-fixed ends of the mounting rail. Again, becausethe patterns repeat at 16-inch intervals, the installer does not need tomake any further measurements to ensure that the rail is attached to thewall studs. So long as the screw or nail is passed through an aperturethat matches the pattern at the two end attachments, the screw or nailwill hit a stud. Thus, the mounting rail 10 can be hung, leveled, andsecurely fixed to wall studs along its entire length with the installerhaving to locate only one single wall stud.

The invention is thus a boon to installers. The mounting rail can beinstalled by a single installer. Depending upon the size and weight ofthe wall furniture to be mounted, a single installer can suspendprefabricated units from the level mounting rail previously fixed to thewall. Of course, if the wall furniture to be installed is very large, asecond installer might be needed to help lift the units into place.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the apertures themselves are visibly distinctdue to their varying cross-sectional profiles. Making these differentaperture profiles might prove difficult for some manufacturers. Thus,the visual distinctness of the various apertures can be accomplished bycolor-coding or by associating some type of visibly distinct indiciawith each aperture in order to form the patterns described earlier. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 4, each aperture has a round profile. But anindicia is associated with each aperture, to thereby define patterns248, 250, 252, and 254, as noted earlier. Each pattern is comprised offour individual apertures (248 a, 248 b, 248 c, 248 d, . . . 254 a, 254b, 254 c, and 254 d), with each set of four apertures defining avisually distinct pattern. As shown in FIG. 4, each aperture includes ashape associated with it (e.g., square, circle, diamond, etc.) In allother respects, the version shown in FIG. 4 functions in the samefashion as the versions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Any indicia, withoutlimitation, may be used, including alphanumeric characters in anylanguage, shape-coding, color-coding, pictograms, etc. The indicia maybe formed in the mounting rail by any means now known or developed inthe future, e.g. stamping, printing, engraving, screen-printing, usingadhesive stickers, etc.

It is understood that the invention is not confined to the particularconstruction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described,but embraces such modified forms thereof as common within the scope ofthe following claims.

1. A device for hanging cabinetry comprising: an elongated rigid railhaving a wall anchor plate connecting an upper hook section and a lowersupport section, at least two apertures through the wall anchor plate; arepetitive pattern comprised of the at least two apertures; and avisually distinct indicia associated with each aperture.
 2. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the visually distinct indicia is the transversecross-sectional shape of the aperture.
 3. The device of claim 1, whereinthe visually distinct indicia is color-coded.
 4. The device of claim 1,wherein the visually distinct indicia is a shape circumscribing theaperture.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the upper hook section isnot planar with the wall anchor plate.
 6. The device of claim 1, whereinthe at least two apertures are spaced equidistant apart.
 7. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the at least two apertures are spaced 1.0 inchapart.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least two apertures eachhave a distinct location within the repetitive pattern.
 9. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the wall anchor plate has a length of at least 16inches.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the pattern of the at leasttwo apertures repeats every 16 inches.
 11. A device for hangingcabinetry comprising: an elongated rigid rail having a wall anchor plateconnecting an upper hook section and a lower support section, at leasttwo apertures through the wall anchor plate; a repetitive patterncomprised of the at least two apertures; and a visually distinct indiciaassociated with each aperture, wherein the visually distinct indicia isthe transverse cross-sectional shape of the aperture.
 12. The device ofclaim 11, wherein the upper hook section is not planar with the wallanchor plate.
 13. The device of claim 11, wherein the at least twoapertures are spaced equidistant apart.
 14. The device of claim 11,wherein the at least two apertures are spaced 1.0 inch apart.
 15. Thedevice of claim 11, wherein the at least two apertures each have adistinct location within the repetitive pattern.
 16. The device of claim11, wherein the wall anchor plate has a length of at least 16 inches.17. The device of claim 11, wherein the pattern of the at least twoapertures repeats every 16 inches.
 18. A device for hanging cabinetrycomprising: an elongated rigid rail having a wall anchor plateconnecting an upper hook section and a lower support section, at leasttwo apertures through the wall anchor plate; a repetitive patterncomprised of the at least two apertures; and a visually distinct indiciaassociated with each aperture, wherein the visually distinct indicia iscolor-coded.
 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the upper hook sectionis not planar with the wall anchor plate.
 20. The device of claim 18,wherein the at least two apertures are spaced equidistant apart.
 21. Thedevice of claim 18, wherein the at least two apertures are spaced 1.0inch apart.
 22. The device of claim 18, wherein the at least twoapertures each have a distinct location within the repetitive pattern.23. The device of claim 18, wherein the wall anchor plate has a lengthof at least 16 inches.
 24. The device of claim 18, wherein the patternof the at least two apertures repeats every 16 inches.